big brother vip australia caitlyn markle

Everything We Know About The Upcoming Chaotic ‘Big Brother VIP’ Season

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It doesn’t get much more controversial than the selection of celebrities picked for the upcoming season of Big Brother VIP. 

Last month, Channel 7 dropped a promo that promised some of the world’s “most fascinating stars” will converge on the house — and they weren’t wrong. With a line-up that includes the likes of Caitlyn Jenner, Thomas Markle Jr., and Jessika Power, this season will no doubt spark A LOT of drama.

So what exactly can we expect from Big Brother VIP? We’ve dug up absolutely everything we could find about the upcoming spin-off show.

Who are the celebrities?

It’s an absolutely random batch of celebs. Read ’em and weep:

  • Caitlyn Jenner – Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, Olympian, and Political Candidate
  • Omarosa – Political Aide and The Apprentice Star
  • Thomas Markle Jr. – Meghan Markle’s Half-Brother
  • Jessika Power – Married at First Sight Star
  • Danny Hayes – Big Brother Star
  • Luke Toki – Australian Survivor Star
  • Josh Carroll – Model and Content Creator
  • Bernard Curry – Actor
  • Dayne Beams – Former AFL Captain
  • Ellie Gonsalves – Actress and Model
  • Imogen Anthony – Fashion Designer, Model, and Kyle Sandilands’ Ex
  • Matt Cooper – NRL Superstar

 

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Will Big Brother VIP be the same as regular Big Brother?

The main similarities are that it will still be hosted by Sonia Kruger and everyone will be living together. Although the promo said the celebs will be cohabiting in a “hotel” rather than a house, which could suggest that the contestants will stay in separate rooms. Other than that, Channel 7 has remained tight-lipped over what else to expect.

Who has an advantage?

With Danny coming off the back of placing fifth on Big Brother this year, he’s in good stead to be able to easily adapt back into life living in confined quarters with a bunch of strangers. Then there’s Luke, who has competed on two different seasons of Australian Survivor, proving that he’s capable of living off rations in the wilderness and competing in physically gruelling challenges — so Big Brother should be comparatively easy. When it comes to competing in Big Brother’s games, professional sportspeople like Dayne and Matt will also obviously have a sizeable advantage.

Caitlyn has previously done several stints on reality TV. She’s most known her for her time on KUWTK, but she also had a short-lived show, I Am Cait, and placed sixth on the UK season of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Caitlyn knows not only how to work the camera, but how to win over viewers for votes. The same can’t be said for her recent appearance on The Masked Singer in the US, where she was the second celebrity to be unmasked.

Aside from Caitlyn’s reality TV appearances, she’s also currently campaigning to become Governor of California, so she’s likely trained in the art of political spin — which will come in handy when strategising over nominations. Speaking of people who can talk their way out of anything, Omarosa was a force to be reckoned with on The Apprentice, she formerly aided Donald Trump, and she placed fifth on the 2018 US season of Celebrity Big Brother.

Who is expected to leave first?

Caitlyn is rumoured to be one of the first to leave. Apparently her contract was leaked to the So Dramatic! podcast, with host Megan Pustetto revealing that a Big Brother VIP source told her that Caitlyn only wanted to appear on the show for one week — so that she could return to the campaign trail. This deal was made long before she started filming as on July 20, as Caitlyn issued a press release about a statewide bus tour that would commence on August 12, despite the fact Big Brother VIP was apparently still filming then.

“Caitlyn had it written into her contract that she was the first to leave the show,” an insider claimed. “She had a deal with producers that she would be able to bail in time to catch a plane to join her governor tour.”

In a surprising twist, Danny is another contestant predicted to leave early. According to some more tea spilled on So Dramatic!, one of Danny’s Big Brother co-stars is claiming Danny’s days will be numbered on VIP. “He mustn’t last long on the show, because he was messaging some of the contestants just a few days after he went in for filming — so I think that he was evicted after just a few days.” The podcast reported that Danny posted photos on Instagram from quarantine while he was meant to still be in the house.

The podcast is also claiming that Omarosa doesn’t make it far either, and the only international celebrity to get to the finals is ummm… Meghan Markle’s bro. Yikes.

Why are these celebrities so controversial?

Kruger told Channel 7 that the drama this season will result in “worldwide headlines” from the celebrities antics. It’s likely that most of these apparent headlines will be generated by Thomas’s statements about his half-sister, Meghan Markle. While he hasn’t seen his royal sister in 10 years, Thomas hasn’t been shy about slamming her in the press: he even claimed in the Big Brother VIP promo that, “I told Prince Harry that I think she’s going to ruin your life. She’s very shallow.” Sure, Jan!

Then there’s Caitlyn, who has a tendency to offend by expressing controversial opinions about trans rights. She has opposed including trans girls in women’s sport and is a proud Republican, despite the political parties historically anti-LGBTQIA policies.

Omarosa is another figure synonymous with controversy. After serving as Donald Trump’s political aid, she was reportedly fired in 2018. She has since released a book detailing her time working alongside the President in the White House, calling him  “truly a racist” along with making several other allegations about his competency. Hopefully, she spills even more Trump tea in the Big Brother house.

Danny being cast on VIP has proved controversial to a number of his Big Brother co-stars, with one former contestant telling So Dramatic! “What a joke! No one is happy about it,” they said. “Everyone thinks it is so lame and just proves how favoured he was by the producers. We’re all pissed, I don’t think anyone but Brenton, Mel, and Adriano even commented on his post to say congratulations. Most of the contestants I’ve spoken to hate it and they don’t even want to watch it now.”

A housemate that didn’t even make it on the show also drew controversy. Controversial (not to mention extremely offensive) British columnist, Katie Hopkins, was intended to be included in the cast, but after she mocked and flouted Australia’s hotel quarantine rules, she was axed from the show and deported. Too bad, so sad!

Who is favourite to win?

The season hasn’t even premiered but there are already two betting favourites: Survivor’s Luke Toki and influencer, Ellie Gonsalves. It makes sense that it’s not some huge international celebrity, as celebrity editions of Big Brother are very rarely won by someone who isn’t born in the host country.

In the history of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK, despite hosting celebrities from all across the world, the only non-British or non-Irish celebrity to win in the last ten years was Australia’s own Courtney Act and err… US actor, Gary Busey.

When does Big Brother VIP premiere?

No clue! But most of the season has reportedly already been filmed, so hopefully it should be dropping in the coming weeks.